Evidence grows that British hostage Peter Moore WAS held by the Iranians

New claims that British hostage Peter Moore and his four bodyguards were kidnapped by Iranians and held in Iran emerged last night.

As Mr Moore, looking remarkably relaxed and well, savoured his first full day of freedom, Channel 4 News said it had been shown a report prepared by GardaWorld,
the Canadian security firm that employed the four former soldiers
kidnapped with Mr Moore in Iraq, pointing the finger of blame directly
at Iran.

Written by Paul Wood, GardaWorld's former team leader in Iraq, it clearly states: 'The kidnapping was orchestrated by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.'

Free man: Peter Moore relaxing at the British Embassy in Baghdad

The confidential report says the company's Iraqi sources were 'convinced' the hostages were being held in Iran.

The Channel 4 claims followed a

report in yesterday's Guardian that elements of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard were behind the abduction, and that Mr Moore and his British bodyguards were moved within a day of their capture to a military camp in Iran.

The growing belief that the kidnapping was masterminded by Iranians deepened the diplomatic rift between London and Tehran at a time when

Unshaven and haggard: Mr Moore in captivity in February 2008

Britain and its allies are at loggerheads with Iran over its nuclear programme.

In recent days the UK has renewed its calls for human rights to be respected over the clampdown on protesters in Iran since the disputed presidential election.

Mr Moore, a 36-year-old IT consultant from Lincoln, and his bodyguards were snatched from the Iraqi finance ministry building in Baghdad in May 2007 by dozens of gunmen wearing military uniforms.

Mr Moore is said to have been targeted for abduction because he was in Iraq to install computer systems to track the movements of money within the post-war administration which might have shown how funds supplied by the U.S. and its allies were being diverted to Iranian-backed insurgent groups.

Three of the bodyguards were murdered, and the Foreign Office believes the fourth is also dead.

Mr Moore was unexpectedly released on Wednesday after 946 days in captivity. He is staying at the British Embassy in Baghdad and is said to be in good health.

The first photograph since his release was in marked contrast to the haggard and unshaven image last seen of him in a February 2008 video pleading for help.

Mr Moore in an undated image before his capture

The Guardian's findings, resulting from a year-long investigation, appeared to be supported by General David Petraeus, the U.S. former commander in Iraq, who told the BBC he was '90 per cent certain' that Mr Moore was held in Iran for some of his two-and-a-half years in captivity.

Former Foreign Office minister Kim Howells, who had responsibility for the Middle East at the time of the kidnap, said he assumed Iran had 'their fingers somewhere in the pie'.

'They can't resist meddling in Iraq. It is one of their great priorities,' Dr Howells said.

The Foreign Office played down the claims but pointedly did not deny them. 'Iran of course has an influence in Iraq, but we have no evidence to substantiate claims of direct involvement in the kidnapping,' a spokesman said.

'We have no evidence that the British hostages were held in Iran.

'We are not in a position to say with any certainty where they were held during every single day of their two and a half years in captivity.'

Murdered: Jason Swindlehurst (L) and Jason
Creswell (R) were both killed and their bodies handed over to the
authorities in Baghdad this June

Alan McMenemy (L) is still missing but the
Foreign Office believes he too is dead dead. The body of Alec
MacLachlan (R) was handed over this September

Iran dismissed reports of its involvement in the kidnapping as 'baseless'.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Guardian's reports 'emanate from the British anger towards the rallies in which millions of Iranians took part to condemn British interference in Iran's internal affairs'.

Iran's foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said earlier this week that Britain would 'receive a slap in the mouth' if it did not 'stop its nonsense'.

HE HAD A PLAYSTATION AND A LAPTOP

Peter Moore has told British officials that he was subjected to 'rough treatment' in the early part of his captivity but treated well in the final six months.

From June he even had access to a TV, a PlayStation, and a laptop, though without connection to the internet.

He is said to have been separated from his bodyguards and spent much of his time in captivity alone. It is understood that Mr Moore will spend several more days at the British Embassy in Baghdad undergoing medical checks and debriefing before being flown home.

There he will spend at least a week in 'decompression' away from public gaze while he is reunited with those closest to him.

This procedure was used for Beirut hostages such as Terry Waite in the 1980s and 1990s.